Master’s Thesis Presentations

The Master of Science (MS) degree at the Jackson School of Geosciences is considered to be the professional degree for a career in the Geosciences. This degree is the foundation for students pursuing employment in the petroleum industry, environmental and hydrogeological fields, state and federal government agencies, and other related geoscience fields. Some students also use the MS degree as preparation for pursuing a Ph.D.

The Energy & Earth Resources Interdisciplinary program provides the opportunity for students to prepare themselves in management, finance, economics, law and policy leading to analytical and leadership positions in resource-related fields. The private sector and government organizations face a growing need for professionals that can plan, evaluate, and manage complex resource projects, commonly international in scope, which often include partners with a variety of professional backgrounds.

As requirements for these degrees, students must present a professional talk on Master’s Thesis Presentations.

Previous presentations from 2019 to 2024 can be found here.

Master’s Thesis Presentations Agenda for Friday, April 18, 2025

Session A1: JGB 2.202

Session Chairs: Talita Lammoglia and Alonso Fernandez
Theme: Power, Policy & Sustainability

Time Student Advisor(s)
2:00-2:15 Berik Matebay (EER) – VIRTUALLY (ZOOM LINK)
Vendor and Technology Selection Recommendations for Kazakhstan’s First Nuclear Power Plant
Fred Beach and Sheldon Landsberger
2:15-2:30 Seth Werchan (EER) – VIRTUALLY (ZOOM LINK)
Effect of Increasing Consumption of Local Produce on Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Central Texas Region
Patrick Bixler, Michele Hockett Cooper, Rajeev Patel, and Joe Hahn
2:30-2:45 Chiara Ballam (EER)
Critical Minerals, Critical Issues: Cobalt Geopolitics, Governance, and Economic Disparities in the Democratic Republic of Congo
David Eaton
2:45-3:00 Brody Loomis (EER)
Balancing Policy, Price Volatility, and Sustainability: Building a Resilient U.S. Rare Earth Market
David Eaton
3:00-3:15 Emily Arnim (EER)
Ensuring Resource Adequacy for Austin Energy: Forecasting Demand Growth and Managing Peak Load through 2040
Michael Webber
3:15-3:30 Mrittika Kabir (EER)
Assessing Avoided Burden by Recycling & Repurposing of Retiring Wind Turbines
Michael Young
3:30-3:45 BREAK

Session A2: JGB 2.202

Session Chairs: Romal Ramadhan and Edwina Owusu-Adjapong
Theme: Carbon Capture & Storage Frontiers

Time Student Advisor(s)
3:45-4:00 Argenis Pelayo (EER)
Impact of Subsurface Setting on CO2 Storage Leakage Risk: Implications for Financial Responsibility and the Insurance Industry
Susan Hovorka, Sahar Bakhshian, and Seyyed Hosseini
4:00-4:15 Kellen Reinsborough (EER)
Evaluating the Economic Feasibility and Scalability of Carbon Capture and Storage Projects in Louisiana: A Comparative Analysis of the 45Q Tax Credit and the EU Emissions Trading System
Susan Hovorka
4:15-4:30 Brendan Moehringer (GEO)
Investigating the Impact of CO2 on Seismic Wave Attenuation
Kyle Spikes
4:30-4:45 Previna Arumugam (EER)
Efficient Detection of Unintended Lateral Migration of CO₂ Plumes in Onshore Gulf of Mexico (Texas, USA)
Alex Bump and Susan Hovorka
4:45-5:00 Scott Mitchell (EER)
An Analysis of Commercialization Pathways for Acoustic Verification of Carbon Sequestration by Seagrass Meadows
Michael Webber and Harry Kennard
5:00-5:15 Riley Garrett (GEO)
Limited Carbon Emissions From Mineral Permafrost Upon Initial Thaw
Peter Flemings and Dan Breecker

Session B1: JGB 2.218

Session Chair: Koutian Wu and Allysa Dallmann
Theme: Water & Resource Management and Climate Tools

Time Student Advisor(s)
2:00-2:15 Sean Avitt (GEO)
Large-scale Carbon Storage Effects on Up-dip Freshwater: Simulating Plume, Pressure and Salinity Changes in the Wilcox Aquifer, DeWitt County, Texas, USA
Carlos Uroza and Tip Meckel
2:15-2:30 Katherine Graves (EER)
AI-Driven Solutions for Groundwater Management and Subsidence Mitigation in Texas
Suzanne Pierce
2:30-2:45 Raquel Ellis (EER)
Establishing a Sustainability Framework for Produced Water Reuse
Michael Young and Lorena Moscardelli
2:45-3:00 Cameron Cummins (GEO)
The Heatwave Diagnostics Package: A Novel High-Performance Tool to Quantify Heatwave Metrics Across Large Parameter Spaces
Geeta Persad
3:00-3:15 Amanda Pfeil (EER)
Nature-Based Solutions for City Resilience: Evaluating the Benefits of Urban Tree Canopy in Austin, Texas
Dev Niyogi
3:15-3:30 Fernando Pagan Gonzalez (GEO)
Water Quality Changes and Environmental Impacts on the Boggy Creek Watershed in East Austin, Texas
Jay Banner
3:30-3:45 BREAK

Session B2: JGB 2.218

Session Chair: Perianne Johnson and Soraya Alfred
Theme: Planetary Geology & Petrology

Time Student Advisor(s)
3:45-4:00 Sarah O’Leary (GEO)
Volumetric Characterization of Zircon in Support of Detrital Geochronology
Rich Ketcham
4:00-4:15 Paul Redman (GEO)
CT, SEM, and LA_ICP_MS Map Investigation of Chondrule Rims in CM2 Aguas Zarcus
Rich Ketcham and Romy Hannah
4:15-4:30 Melanie Garza (GEO)
Sedimentological Analysis of In Situ Lunar Regolith from Apollo 17 Double Drive Tube 73001/2 using X-Ray Computed Tomography
Rich Ketcham
4:30-4:45 Quinn Johnson (GEO)
Heterogeneous Bubble Nucleation on Mafic Crystals in Rhyolite Magma
Jim Gardner
4:45-5:00 Saleh Almeshari (GEO)
Carbon Mineralization in Ultramafic Rocks: Insights from Flow-Through CT-Imaged Experiments
Nicola Tisato

Session C1: JGB 2.324 (Boyd)

Session Chair: Ander Martinez-Donate and Josh Malone
Theme: Sedimentology & Stratigraphy & Tectonics

Time Student Advisor(s)
2:00-2:15 Emily Hugo (GEO)
Optical Satellite-Derived Bathymetry on Turbid Coasts for Analysis of Nearshore Morphodynamics
David Mohring and Ginny Catania
2:15-2:30 Claudiu Nistor (GEO)
Mixed-Origin Serpentinites Record the Tectonic Evolution of the Dun Mountain Ophiolite Belt, New Zealand
Jaime Barnes
2:30-2:45 Houssin Al Barri (GEO)
The Facies and Sedimentary Architecture Related to Wave-to-Tidal Variability in The Sego Member of the Mesa Verde Group in Utah, USA
Cornel Olariu
2:45-3:00 Abdulmajeed Alrefaei (GEO)
Stratigraphic and Architectural Analysis of the Hirnantian Glacial Deposits of the Sarah Formation: An Analysis of the Rahal Dhab Paleovalley in Tabuk Basin, Northwest Saudi Arabia
Cornel Olariu, Ronald Steel, and David Mohrig
3:00-3:15 Jacob Allen (GEO)
Experimental Rock Physics Unveils Secrets of Hikurangi Margin Seismicity
Nicola Tisato and Harm van Avendonk
3:15-3:30 Adan Silva (GEO)
Cenozoic Arc Magmatism and Sedimentation in the High-Elevation Interandean Valley of Ecuador
Brian Horton
3:30-3:45 BREAK

Session C2: JGB 2.324 (Boyd)

Session Chair: Barra Peak and Sage Turek
Theme: Basin Evolution

Time Student Advisor(s)
3:45-4:00 Natthakorn (Jack) Konguthaithip (GEO)
Sedimentary Basin Evolution and Structural Compartmentalization in the Northernmost Andes: Eastern Cordillera and Magdalena Valley, Colombia
Brian Horton
4:00-4:15 Ashlee Siddall (GEO)
Provenance, Sedimentation, and Deformation Associated with a Mid-Cenozoic Hiatus in the Andean Foreland Basin, West-Central Argentina
Brian Horton
4:15-4:30 Braden Vines (GEO)
Defining Intrashelf Basin Margins – Example from the Maverick Basin/Devil’s River Trend, Southwest Texas
Charlie Kerans
4:30-4:45 Colton Hayden (GEO)
Lithium Anomalies as Indicators of Fault-Driven Brine Migration in Gulf Coast Basin Aquifers
Xavier Janson
4:45-5:00 Taufik Al Amin (GEO)
Mechanical Properties Distribution within a Mixed Carbonate-Siliciclastic Deep-Water Fan of the Wolfcamp A Formation, Permian, Delaware Basin
Xavier Janson, Christopher Zahm, and Kyle Spikes